Montgomery County Commissioners introduce 2019 budget

The Montgomery County Commissioners recently introduced a $420 million budget for 2019, which includes no tax increase, as well as a five-year Capital Improvement plan.

The proposed budget increases the County’s General Fund reserve a full 21.1 percent of the overall budget to $88.5 million.

The spending plan calls for using county dollars to leverage over $500,000 in state and federal grant funding to combat the opioid addiction and overdose crisis. It also calls for supports for STOP Grant II program to prevent school violence.

The proposed budget provides funding for core community services to seniors, families in need, veterans and children.

The capital budget also includes support for county-wide public safety efforts, including upgrades to the Public Safety Training Center and the 9-1-1 system. It includes funding to replace the County’s aging voting machines next year and provides $23.6 million over the next five years to maintain and improve parks, trails, and historic sites.

“We’ve already had 2.2 million visitors to our trails, parks and historic sites this year,” Commissioner Ken Lawrence said. “Clearly, those are assets our residents value and the importance of replacing our voting machines cannot be overstated.”

The Capital Improvement plan advances the ongoing County Campus Redevelopment Plan and efforts to improve county-owned roads and bridges.

The proposed operating and capital budgets are available for public review at the Montgomery County-Norristown Public Library and the Board of Commissioners’ office. Two public hearings on the proposed budgets will be held on Nov. 29.

The Commissioners will consider the budget for adoption at their board meeting on Dec. 13.